May 31, 2009

This has been way too long since we updated this blog. Sorry to all of you. We are still alive and doing well. We stay busy with the PEF students. We are loving the association we have with them. This past week we had two of our students (funny how they become ours) come and told us that they served their mission in Dar es Salaam with Steve and Margaret Terry. "Hello" Terrys.
We spent Tuesday of this past week with some very dear friends we have made since we arrived here. Elder and Sister Luke from Greenriver, Utah. They have been so kind to us, taking us around, feeding us when we first came, telling us fun places to go and do and see. We went with them to the Nairobi Game park. They wanted to take us there since we first arrived but we have been waiting for our work permit because it is cheaper to get in. Elder Luke worked for the Forest Service before their mission. Well the permits haven't come and the Lukes' were being released on Thursday so we bit the bullet and went anyway. We had a wonderful time. We saw more black rhinos than any other couple had seen since the Lukes' came 18 months ago. We have some awesome pictures. The thing that is so astounding about this park is that it is right in the city limits. We took pictures of rhinos with the tall building that is right next to the church complex where our office is in the background. Amazing. As I have said before, this place is beautiful. We love it.
Let me tell you about some of the people we have met. Betterman is a young man who has helped train us in the office. His wife lives in Uganda because that is where she is from. She went through the PEF program as he is now doing. But she can't get a job here because she is Ugandan.. One day while he was in the office his mother called. She lives "Up Country". That is where the native village of their tribe is. She told Betterman that her cow had died and she didn't know what she was going to do. By selling the milk from one cow she was able to sustain herself. Now she is left with just three calfs. She could sell two of the calfs and buy another milk cow. Not sure what she has done.
The Branch President, James Chylu, joined the church with his wife several years ago. They went to the temple. I don't know anything about his family but he has served as branch president for nine years. His wife is inactive and quite antagonist towards the church. The saints here are super. When they serve, they serve well.
The people here are so different. For the most part their testimonies are so strong. They really do rely on our Heavenly Father. If they have something come up in their lives, they know that they can go to the Lord and He will help them.
The PEF program is for young men and women between the age of 17 and 30. When they have their 31st birthday they have to get an age exception to be considered for the loan. We had a young lady come into the office seeking a loan. We looked at her age and determined that she would need to go through the Age Exception process. As she left the office, Betterman told her to say a prayer. We began looking at her birthdate and determined that she wouldn't be 31 until June. He ran and caught up with her and told her to come back. She was speechless. She said that she had never had a prayer answered so quickly. We started the loan processs for her that day. The next roadblock was that the school started before the loan process would be completed. Elder Flinders typed a letter stating that Judy was in the process of the loan and would they allow her to begin classes before the funds would be disbursed. They said "OK". Then by the time that the loan would be processed she would have her 31st birthday. Another delima. Her church records state her birthday June 21st. We needed until July 4th. She said the the church records were wrong. She had chided her mother all her life for putting the wrong birthdate on her blessing certificate. All of her other records had July 6th as her birthday. She had her birth certificate and her National I.D. card as proof. As our luck would have it, the brother who is over the records for the whole mission has an office down the hall from our office. We spoke to him and told him she had proof that her church records were wrong. Judy gave him the documents and by the following morning the church records were corrected. Everything she needed was in order now and her loan papers were submitted. She is done and the check to pay for her tuition is in our office waiting for her to pick it up. The Lord is certaintly aware of his children and the struggles. The PEF progran is for worthy, ambitious, and needy students. She is probably the most ambitious that we have seen.
We begin teaching the Temple Prep Class next week. We are excited about that. There are three or four families that will attend. It will be a wonderful experience to be able to go to the temple with them. When people go to the temple, they receive their endowments one day and then get to attend several more sessions for a couple of days. Usually the missionary couple ends up being the sitters after the initial temple session. Sounds fun?